It’s hard to imagine a more important nutrient than protein. After all, protein is part of every cell in your body. It plays an essential role in keeping those cells healthy — aiding in cell repair, recovery and growth.
But the most important job of protein in the body is the role it plays in building and maintaining muscle. About half the protein in the body is found in muscle cells. And when you don’t consume enough of it, those muscles can’t function at their best.
How protein preserves muscle mass
As we age, the amount of muscle we have naturally begins to decline. The process starts gradually around age 30. Typically, you lose about 3% to 5% of your muscle mass per decade in midlife. But the pace at which you lose muscle accelerates as you get older.
Severe, age-related muscle loss can lead to a condition called sarcopenia. People with sarcopenia experience reduced physical strength that can make even the most basic daily tasks difficult. If you have sarcopenia, you may find it hard to get up out of a chair, open jars, carry a bag of groceries, or go up and down stairs.
Getting enough protein in your daily diet is one of the best ways to help prevent sarcopenia and maintain muscle mass as you age. The protein you eat feeds those muscle cells. That helps them continue to grow and repair so that you lose less muscle overall. Even if you’ve already been diagnosed with sarcopenia, getting more protein can help stave off additional muscle loss.
How much protein do you really need?
The recommended daily allowance of protein for adults is 0.36 grams per pound of body weight. For someone who weighs 150 pounds, for example, that adds up to 54 grams of protein over the course of the day.
But experts say that older adults may need more protein in order to help stave off age-related muscle loss. If you are older than 50, you may want to aim higher than the recommended daily allowance. Research suggests that 0.45 grams per pound of body weight (or 68 grams daily for a 150-pound person) may be a better goal.
If you are physically active and working to build more muscle mass, you may require higher amounts of protein in your diet. But since getting too much can harm your kidneys, talk to your doctor about finding the right balance for you.
How to eat more protein
Getting enough protein in your diet isn’t difficult, but you do need to pay attention to your food choices and eat a varied diet. This is especially true for older adults who may be eating less (due to reduced appetite or trying to maintain a healthy weight).
The best way to achieve your protein goals is to make sure you’re eating some at every meal — plus consuming some protein-rich snacks in between. A wide variety of animal products and plant-based foods contain protein, so no matter what type of diet you eat, you should be able to get enough.
Foods that are rich in protein include:
- Meat, poultry and fish
- Dairy products (such as milk, cheese and yogurt)
- Eggs
- Nuts and seeds (including nut and seed butters)
- Beans and legumes
- Soy (such as tofu and edamame)
- Quinoa (a high-protein grain)
If you’re finding it difficult to eat adequate protein, you can also try adding supplemental protein powder to your diet. You can sprinkle it into a smoothie, onto your cereal or over a bowl of yogurt to boost the protein content.
Other ways to keep muscles strong as you age
Eating a diet that’s rich in protein is just one part of the equation when it comes to preserving your muscle mass. The other — equally important — part is exercise. Staying physically active keeps muscles strong and helps prevent sarcopenia as you age.
Any type of exercise moves your muscles and helps improve your overall health. That’s why it’s important to aim for the recommended minimum of 150 hours a week of aerobic exercise (including walking). Even just a few minutes of movement — spread across your day — is a great start.
But to truly improve your muscle strength and maintain or increase muscle mass, you need resistance training. That means doing workouts that challenge your muscles to get stronger. Lifting weights, doing yoga (including chair yoga) or body-weight exercises (such as squats and pushups) are all good ways to increase muscle mass and strength. But it’s always important to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine.
